Cardinals wrap up golf season

Overall, the 2013 golf season was considered a success by Elizabeth coach Dave Strang and his Cardinals. They just wish it could have ended on a higher note.

Elizabeth won the Colorado Seven League title. But when it came to state, only two team members were able to qualify for the tournament held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen.

Thus, leading the way for Elizabeth were Ross Galmon and Sean Herr. Galmon shot 92 on his first round then followed with an 84 for a 176 total to finish in 57th in the 84-player field. Herr shot 97 on the first round and 99 on the second for a 196.

Galmon, who will head for the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs in the Fall, capped his high school career going out as the league champion.

“It certainly was a good season and I enjoyed it,” Galmon said. “State was fun, but I just wish we all could have been there as a team. The Evergreen course was tough, especially when it came to putting. We had a couple of practice rounds and felt we could do well, but it just didn't turn out that way.

“League was really good for us. I was the conference champion and all four of us were all-league. That's good. Again, I just wish we all could have been at state. My long game was good, but putting was just crazy. I'm not going to play golf on the college team.”

Herr felt confident heading into state, but his results were not what he had hoped.

“I felt I was prepared but I didn't perform well,” said Herr, a junior. “I had more strokes putting than I did on the fairways. It's a tough course and it certainly tested your abilities as a golfer. We had a couple of practice rounds. It was a course that tests your abilities.'

Indeed, it was a tough go for Herr. He started on the 10th hole on day two and shot a heart breaking 10 strokes on the hole to open the day.

“You have to show up on a course like this and I just wasn't too ready to play,” Herr said. “We won all our league meets this season and I thought our whole team would make it to state. We gave it our best all season, we were in the right mind set, we worked together and we did what needed to be done. We thought we would go to state as a team, but it didn't work out. It felt good to win league, I just wish we could have carried our season to a much better conclusion.”

While the regular season was solid for Elizabeth, Strang had also hoped for a better finish.

“It was a great season winning the league,” Strang said. “We almost had the team qualify for state, but Dave Walstrom and Adam Eveleth just missed for us. The kids looked forward to state with great anticipation, but they did struggle. It was a tough course, but one that was in great shape. Yet, it was tough on everyone, not just us. Being in the mountain, the course was up and down, too.

“Sean had a tough second day, getting a 10 on his first hole,” Strang continued. “But he showed a lot of character and continued to play hard after that. It was good competition overall for all the golfers. We're looking forward to next season. We have a fine junior varsity and I think we have a fine outlook for next year.”

Coronado's Isaac Peterlilie won medalist honors with a score of 144. He shot a 70 on opening day then followed with a 74 on his second round. That first round proved to be the winner as runner-up Wilson Belk of Cheyenne Mountain carded a first round 71 then also followed with a 74.

The bronze medal was won by Pueblo West's Glen Workman with a 147. He had been tied with Petersilie after the first round, but zoomed to a 77 over his second round.

Valor Christian, out of Highlands Ranch, came through to win the team championship with a score of 454. Silver Creek finished in second with a score of 456, followed by Cheyenne Mountain with 463.

Jake Staiano led Valor Christian with his fourth-place finish, carding a 148. Teammates Ross McDonald and Josh Seiple finished seventh and ninth, respectively. McDonald finished with a score of 152, Seiple, 154. The fourth member of the team, Cody Welch, tied for 13th in the individual standings with a 156.